Control y eliminación de la malaria

Protection after Malaria Therapy: A Step-up to Immunity

Abstract

Vathsala Palakkod Govindan*

The recognition of deficiencies in control programs of antimalarial vaccines and drugs have acquired importance as a frontline protection in malaria therapy. Since antimalarial drug resistance has been reported for all existing drugs worldwide, leaving combination therapy, this includes artemisinin and its derivatives, as the only choice of chemotherapy. In case of artemisinin combination therapy, it is very interesting to know that once the protection is noticed after the treatment in experimental malaria model, they get protected for second, third and subsequent infections. This is also true in case of infected patients in malaria endemic areas. The picture that emerges is of that immunity to malaria is playing a main role during infection. However, the protection after antimalarial drug treatment also gives us a picture that the protection leads to a step-up in immunity.